Withering
by LuckydrawR
Summary: "Jesse, I don't think it's me you should be worrying about..." Lukas' concerned gaze bored into me as I swallowed and gave a nervous smile. "Something is wrong ... with you, isn't there?" A 'what-if' on the Witherstorm Arc. 'What-if' Petra was never trapped in a tractor beam and Jesse didn't need to save her? 'What-if' someone else got Wither sickness instead of her? (Male Jesse)
1. A Storm Is Coming

_**I've been playing Minecraft: Story Mode lately (though I've had the game for more than two years. I don't have a PS4, so I can't play Season 2 😭 ... only watch it on YouTube or play it at a friend's place.) This is probably my sixth playthrough of the game. Yes, I enjoy the game quite a bit. It actually got me into Minecraft and helps me understand the mechanics in it when I play Story Mode. I'm someone that follows a story in a game more than a sandbox, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy them ... Disney Infinity I like too.**_

 _ **I've looked through the fanfictions on here in the Story Mode section and noticed there weren't many in what I was looking for ... a sort of a 'what-if' scenario considering the whole of the Witherstorm Arc. I won't say much about it, but if you've played Story Mode it'll be easy to figure out this 'what-if' after this chapter as certain 'things' will be different.**_

 _ **This is my first try at a Minecraft: Story Mode fanfiction and will be in first person (just to make it a little easier for me). I'll probably skip some sections in the game while some will be kept in, I'll add some parts and then the decisions Jesse makes will be from my own playthrough as I see him as a smart, hardworking individual that cares for his friends a lot. Yes, I'll be using the Male Jesse for this. I've grown fond of him after playing as him for a few playthroughs and I also ship him with Petra. I don't know if it will happen yet though.**_

 ** _Hope you enjoy._**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 1_**

 _ **A Storm Is Coming**_

 _I wouldn't have guessed that such a normal day would've turned into such a weird one. We only wanted to win Endercon with our Enderman fireworks dispenser; which we did ... though Reuben and I had been attacked by zombies after Aiden nearly let our build catch on fire. That jerk. And now after chasing a weird guy that scammed Petra out of a deal down to a basement, asking Gabriel the Warrior for help and then ... watching Ivor put the finishing touches onto the soul-sand T - creating a Wither; which in turn started to destroy everything._

 _Well, this has not been my definition of a normal day ... at all._

 _It was chaos._

 _A storm._

 _A Witherstorm._

 _So, we had to get away._

 _We went to Gabriel's secret base which had obsidian blocks as the inner chamber and a Nether Portal inside. However just as we got to the portal; the Witherstorm showed up, swinging its tentacles through the open chamber door. One came through the roof, causing obsidian to fall everywhere._

 _I looked back to see if my friends had made it through the portal in time. Axel had grabbed Reuben and taken him through while Olivia had gone after him. Lukas was frozen outside the portal, staring at the chaos before him as Petra fought a tentacle with her 'flashy' gold sword._

 _Gabriel, however, got caught by one._

 _"Lukas, get moving!" I yelled over to him over the noise of blocks breaking and swords clashing. I just heard a small yelp from him as he watched me charge over to help Gabriel, grabbing his upper body and pulling him out of reach of the tentacle._

 _"Thank you..." He breathed out, almost sounding out of breath. He stood up, looking at me as though believing he was already defeated by the creature outside the fortress. "I can't defeat this by myself. We need to find the others."_

 _"Others?" I questioned Gabriel, quickly glancing over my shoulder at Petra to see her still fighting a tentacle before looking back at Gabriel._

 _"Soren's been missing for years, but the others ... you must seek them out." He took something out of his inventory and I stared it. It was amazing. "Take this amulet and guard it with your life."_

 _It was actually quite beautiful..._

 _Wait ... what?_

 _I was more astonished by Gabriel's words, staring at him then looking back to the amulet in his hands. "What? Why me?" I questioned him, surprised he was even asking me._

 _I mean ... I'm a nobody._

 _I'm just a guy; who lives in a treehouse and has a pig as a best friend._

 _Not exactly a typical duo to save the world..._

 _What could I do to help?_

 _"I believe in you." He handed the amulet over to me; my fingers wrapping around the golden frame._

 _Did he really just say that ... he believed in me?_

 _Me?_

 _An ordinary, pig-loving ... I don't even know how to explain what I'm like because I'm so ... ordinary._

 _I swallowed, nervously and looked at Gabriel; who nodded at me. "Now take the amulet, take it through the portal and then..." I looked down at the glow on the blue part of it for a moment before realising where I was and put it my inventory just in time to dodge a tentacle that came crashing through the roof._

 _"Close one!" I smirked to myself as I got out my stone sword and swung it at the tentacle, causing it to bat away from me. I heard Lukas scream as the tentacle swung near him, causing him to duck._

 _I turned around to help Lukas just as Petra took charge, swiping her own golden weapon at the tentacle with a loud yell. She landed near me allowing me to look over at her. "You two; go through the portal and meet up with the others. I'll stay here and do whatever I can."_

 _No way..._

 _She's not staying here!_

 _"I'm not leaving you behind, Petra!" I told her, causing her to frown at me._

 _"Sorry, Jesse, this is something I have to do." I stare at her for a moment before looking back at the portal that Lukas was nearby, knowing that he had heard all that from the grim look on his face. He didn't want to leave Petra behind either. "If anything happens, I'll meet you guys at the temple."_

 _I swallowed._

 _I couldn't..._

 _I couldn't even think of leaving one of my friends behind._

 _It'd hurt too much..._

 _Before I could make a decision; a purple tractor beam came down through one of the holes in the ceiling; grabbing hold of Gabriel. Petra turned around, ready to help him with her sword in hand to fight off the tentacles that were in the way. I ran over to help too; only to be grabbed by a tentacle and held in the air. A loud cry of shock escaped my mouth as I banged my sword on the tentacle that was wrapped around my body._

 _"JESSE!"_

 _I'm totally fine..._

 _I'm not being held upside down by a tentacle..._

 _I'm not..._

 _My grass green eyes met with Petra's oak brown ones as she sliced the tentacle holding me, causing it to let go and for me to face-plant the floor. "Ow..." She helped me up and started pushing me to the portal where Lukas was._

 _"Get going!" She shouted, before kicking our hides through._

 ** _Minecraft: Story Mode - Withering_**

All of that ... happened only a few hours ago; last night to be exact. I can't believe it's been that long since that Witherstorm was unleashed.

I sure hope Petra's okay; especially with that _thing_ out there and causing such ... a destructive path in its wake.

Well, Gabriel told us to reunite the Order and that's exactly what we're doing. Olivia and I had just been to Redstonia to get Ellegaard. She didn't believe us at first; actually thought we were her new apprentices. Ha. Though we _did_ stay long enough to help her construct another command block that _could've_ stopped this one, but we weren't able to do it in time ... bad decision on my part.

The Witherstorm followed us and destroyed Redstonia, but we were able to escape to the Nether portal in time.

Yet ... I got grabbed by _another_ fricking tentacle!

Yay...

The three of us finally arrived back at the Order's temple and a sigh of relief left my lips as we jumped down from the small dirt blocks we'd been standing atop of. A good rest would definitely be nice for a little while after all the running we did.

As if that'll happen...

A hissing sound caught our attention and I cried out, seeing a Creeper crawl towards us. I didn't have long to react because it was shot with four arrows and exploded almost instantly.

"Who goes there?" I turned towards the base, recognising the voice as our only blond companion. "Jesse? Is that you?"

"Wow! Lukas, did you build all of this?!" I exclaimed, impressed with the Ocelot member.

Lukas rubbed a hand behind his head as if embarrassed about it. He shouldn't be so modest. "Well, yeah. I figured I would try and fortify the place, you know?" He waved at us to show how glad he was that we were back.

"We brought Ellegaard!" I called up to him, pointing at the Redstone engineer behind me; who only gave a wry smile back.

"Fantastic!" He called back, jumping down from the platform he was on. I let a smile plaster itself across my face as we headed over to the door, so that Lukas could open it up for us. "You guys are never going to believe who showed up while you were gone…"

Olivia, Ellegaard and I with Reuben following beside me followed Lukas into the hallway of the temple to see Petra, leaning on the stone wall, smiling smugly at us and waving. "Petra!" I exclaimed, overjoyed that she was alright.

I am.

I mean after what happened last night ... I was little scared for her.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Reuben immediately darted over to our red-haired friend, running circles around her in excitement.

As soon as Reuben had his moment with Petra; Olivia moved forward to give her a hug, mentioning how worried we were which made Petra look a little guilty about. Once the two shared their hug I moved forward to give Petra one too, patting her on the back as if to tell her that I didn't blame her for worrying us.

"It's such a relief to see you. I'm glad that you're okay," I told her with a soft smile on my face.

"Thanks, Jesse." We pulled a part as she turned her attention to each of us; her expression changing almost instantly from relief to grim. Uh oh, I can tell this isn't going to be good. "After I pushed you and Lukas through the portal I ran and ran for the temple. I'm just glad I heard Gabriel tell you where to go."

I stared at her for a moment; watching her expression change before taking in a breath and deciding to ask, "Were there any survivors?"

Petra shook her head almost instantly, causing shock to sink in like a stone block as she explained, "It's all a blur ... but the Witherstorm left nothing behind. Everything ... everyone ... was just gone." She turned around as we started walking down the pathway through the base. This atmosphere is just so ... grim. "It even got Gabriel."

I turned my head to look back at Ellegaard for a moment to notice her jaw open in shock before she closed it and lowered her head. I can understand why. She believes her friend is dead. We thought Petra was dead only a few hours ago, but that didn't stop us from continuing on. She wouldn't have wanted us to give up and now staying positive worked ... in a way.

She's just that tough a cookie.

The five of us finally made it to the stairs, heading up them and taking in the sights of the stone walls and columns of the temple. I turned my head to notice Ellegaard pointing over to where Axel was standing on the other side of the room with a man dressed in griefer clothing. I blinked at seeing this, wondering what Axel did while Olivia and I were gone only for Lukas to explain that he had gone and gotten Magnus on his own.

I really wasn't expecting that.

What am I saying?

Of course I am...

I shouldn't even be surprised that Axel would go on his _own_ to find Magnus! UGH! Seriously!

There's a Witherstorm out there and he goes on his own to get Magnus!

What was he thinking!?

"Uhh ... Jesse..." I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard Lukas' voice, looking over at him with a blink of my eyes. He was pointing at where Magnus and Axel were which seemed to be where Ellegaard had gone off to; I turned my attention to them and froze.

The two were _fighting_ with each other!

This is no time for fighting!

We have a giant Witherstorm out there and they're fighting!?

Just ... why?

I hurried over to the three, my gaze shifting to Axel; who kept siding with Magnus in the fight. I finally came up beside Ellegaard, looking at the two with a frown on my face. Magnus noticed my entrance, causing a frown to plaster itself across his face. "Wow. You finally found yourself a live one. Your little devotees are usually a little more on the _bookish_ side."

I groaned, shaking my head at hearing this nonsense. "Would you all cut it out? Holy crap, you're all acting like crazy people!" The two Order of the Stone members walked past me; causing me to turn around with a worried frown on my face. "Uhh, people? Can we, _please_ , focus on the bigger picture? We have a _very_ hungry Witherstorm in the process of the turning the whole world into its dinner."

"It was terrifying. It came out of nowhere and just destroyed ... everything..." Ellegaard commented, sounding actually frightened about this.

The two arrived back to where the others were and jumped down the two blocks into the area near the levers. "A little too scary for you, Ellie? You couldn't just _think_ it away?"

I followed the two back over to the others; sighing to myself as they began to argue over how Ellegaard couldn't defeat the Witherstorm with just brainpower. Really? Just ... really? I stopped before the end block, glaring down at the arguing duo in frustration. "Would you two _stop_ fighting?!"

The two stopped almost as soon I had shouted that, staring at me in surprise. I suppose my friends were surprised at my sudden shout as well. I'm usually the level-headed one in our group, but right now ... I put a hand to my forehead, rubbing it. A headache ... just great and at a time like this.

Just what I need...

"Jesse, are you okay?" I heard Petra's concerned voice reach me as she began to approach me; not anywhere near her spot near Lukas anymore. How'd she do that so fast? Wait, why am I questioning what Petra does? "Jesse?" She was now in front of me and I could see the confused and concerned expressions on everyone's faces, including Reuben; who was beside Lukas.

I just shook my head; allowing my arm to fall by my side and let a smile cross my features. "I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little..." I shrugged my shoulders, wondering how to finish that sentence.

"Stressed out? Tired?" She gave me a smirk and patted my shoulder, gently. "I get that. You're not used to running yourself ragged like I am in the Nether, so I can understand that."

A small chuckle escaped my lips as I watched everyone discuss about what to do about the Witherstorm. I turned my gaze to Petra and nodded at her. "Thanks, Petra."

"No problem. Just don't go in over your head, alright?" She gave me one last pat and headed over to where the map was located.

I blinked my eyes a few times; looking to the others and hearing small snippets of 'TNT' and 'Soren'. "What are you talking about? What did Soren have?" I asked, coming down the stairs; wanting to be a part of the conversation again.

The others turned their attention to me before Ellegaard started to explain what it was they had been talking about, "Soren had a kind of 'Super TNT', stronger and more explosive than anything else in the world." My eyes widened at hearing this, moving a little closer to hear better. "The Formidi-Bomb."

Magnus just ended up rolling his eyes at Ellegaard. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard _all_ about the F-Bomb before."

"F-Bomb?" Axel questioned Magnus, confusion tinting his tone.

"Yea, Soren claimed that dropping the F-Bomb could destroy anything," Magnus explained a little more about this so-called 'Formidi-Bomb'.

I blinked at hearing all of this from the two Order members. Finally! Progress! "Well, the Formidi-Bomb sounds perfect. We should go get it! Now!"

"Well, there's a little problem there..." Ellegaard mentioned. There's always a catch. We were _so_ close! "We don't know where Soren is. But you found _us_ ... do you know where he is?"

My gaze travelled over to where the map was at the other side of the room, walking over towards it with the others following me. "He wasn't on the map," I stated, causing the two Order members to nod and everyone to separate for the moment, so I could get the amulet's location thing going.

I looked over to Petra; who had Reuben sitting beside her, arms folded across her chest and she seemed to be ... eyeing me. But why? I gulped and wondered over to her with a smile on my face. "Hey Petra, how are you doing?"

She lowered her brows, frowning at me. I remained where I was; a little stunned she was giving me such a strong silent treatment. She turned her head away and let out a long sigh causing me to frown in concern. "I'm fine, Jesse. I just ... never mind..."

Umm ... okay...

Not weird at all...

Is it me or was there something possibly important she wants to tell me?

"Is there something wrong?" I asked her, sounding a little worried now.

She turned her gaze to mine, but as soon as she'd turned to me she turned to look around at everyone around us. "Later..."

"Okay then..." I said, walking away from her; looking back I noticed she was watching me again. I turned back around and shivered, slightly.

Has it always been this cold in here?

I rubbed my hands over my arms, heading over to the pedestal; putting the amulet in its place. Before heading over to the control panel where the levers were by the staircase and flipped the only one that hadn't been touched. Once I did that; the Redstone glowstone light came on, shining through the amulet and letting us see where the members of the Order currently were.

"Alright, there's your light, my light..." I heard Magnus tell Ellegaard from where they were looking at the lights on the map. A slight flicker from the amulet caused another light to appear.

"That's new."

"There he is." I wondered over to the rest of the group just as Ellegaard began to explain once more. "Soren had his fortress deep inside the mountains. After the Order ... broke up that's where he went to keep doing his experiments."

"So, what's the problem?" I asked, walking over behind the two and looking at them.

Before either of them could give me an answer; another short flicker and then there was a blue light on the map along with Soren's, Ellegaard's and Magnus'. "It didn't do that before..." Olivia commented, sounding surprised and astonished.

Blue?

Wait a minute...

My eyes widened, realizing whose light that was. "Oh ... that's not good. That's Ivor!"

Magnus blinked after hearing my statement and Ellegaard began explaining about how Ivor was probably going to Soren's and that we should go now to get ahead of the Witherstorm. This in turn made Magnus bring up his opinion of how we should wait until tomorrow morning, so we don't have to worry about the night-time creatures.

This ... just spawned another argument between the two...

Great...

Will they always be fighting like this?

I seriously hope not...

I sighed to myself, I would have to be the one to break the argument up and decide when we'd have to leave. "Yea, I don't want the Witherstorm catching up with us. We should go now," I told them, causing the two to look at me and Ellegaard to give me a thankful smile.

"An excellent call, Jesse. And far more decisive than either of us are being," Ellegaard said, turning her head to glare at her ex-Order member.

"What a coincidence that it's _your_ plan, but fine," Magnus commented, sounding _very_ sarcastic before finally agreeing to the terms.

I nodded as the two headed off towards the stairs, followed by my friends and I took a moment to look at the map a little longer; a hand on the bottom of my chin. "Jesse, come on!" Lukas called from the staircase.

I looked over to him and nodded; grabbing the amulet from the pedestal it had been in. I stopped for a moment; looking out at the sunset behind various mountains and hills over the horizon. It was quite beautiful ... too bad I never really took the time to look at these types of things before the world started to end. I _am_ more of a builder I guess. I put the amulet in my inventory with a small sigh and began my trek over to the staircase the others had gone down.

A light cough came up from my throat and made its way out of my mouth; causing my hand to cover my mouth. A frown crossed my face with slight confusion; looking down at my right arm.

It felt strange.

It felt like pins and needles all over my arm.

I reached my left hand towards my long-sleeved white shirt; curiosity getting the better of me.

"Jesse, hurry up or I'm coming up there!" Petra shouted, sounding annoyed and causing me to chuckle a little.

I put my hand down and began walking down the stairs towards where the others were; seeing the annoyed looks on their faces for waiting so long. I smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head before following them out of the temple.

Whatever that feeling was on my arm ... eh, it was probably nothing.

* * *

 ** _Yea, as you can see I kept some text from the game and then also added in some. I wanted to keep the important parts like the explanation sequences on certain things like the Formidi-Bomb and such. I obviously didn't keep everything as it'd make the chapter too long and cluttered if I added in every single piece of dialogue that was in the game which is why I cut out some portions. Probably next chapter will have more of the add-on stuff than just the game-only dialogue._**

 ** _Also, if this chapter is a little rushed ... sorry. I was up late writing it and I have TAFE/College tomorrow and wanted to get it up. I'll probably do some quick edits here and there at some point, but yea._**

 ** _Hope you enjoyed!_**


	2. Dampening Of Strength

_**I want to thank '**_ _Someone **' for telling me that you can get Minecraft: Story Mode on PC. I don't have a Steam account, but getting the disc and using the recreate feature to play it is better than not being able to play it at all. I just got it on Wednesday and have already played through the whole five episodes; now I wanna replay it with different choices (the opposite of what I originally did). I'm one of those people that would rather experience the game themself than watch someone else play it ... it's just better getting the thrill yourself than seeing someone else do it. When you're a gamer that's how you see things ... you want to enjoy the game not watch someone else enjoy it.**_

 _ **I did look up that Season 2 takes place 5-7 years after Season 1 Episode 8, but since we don't know Jesse and his friends exact ages I'll just go out on a limb and guess. They still sound quite young in Season 2, so they're probably not that old. In Season 1 they kind of act immature at times; due to both the Witherstorm or being stuck in a Portal Network - that equals stress. We all know that teenagers feel a lot of this pressure and either explode in anger or get highly stressed not a lot of them are as calm as Jesse. They can't be any older than twenty due to the timeframe between Season 1 and 2. So, I'll make Jesse and his Friends 17 here ... that way most of their 'freakouts' can be explained as teenage anxiety and such.**_

 _ **I'm not so great at descriptive writing, so you'll have to excuse my writing if it isn't that good with describing backgrounds and all that. I'm not that good at describing fight scenes either. I much rather write the characters than explain where they are and where they're going (even though you have to do that at times). That's why most recently I've gotten into writing first-person because it's easier to write from one person's point-of-view while I sometimes write third for a different perspective ... no matter how hard it can be. I do like a challenge at times.**_

 _ **Anyways, hope you enjoy the new chapter!**_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2**_

 _ **Dampening Of Strength**_

"Alright, everyone, let's get moving," I told the group of people behind me as we made our way through the Forest Biome towards Soren's fortress. This was a good idea to go at the cover of night. I mean, we may run into mobs, but at least we'll be ahead of the Witherstorm.

I really can't stand those _stupid_ tentacles!

They _always_ seem to be after me...

Ugh...

That really irritates me...

"Yo!" I turned my head to the side to see Magnus coming up beside me. "We haven't really gotten the chance to chat yet."

 _Really_?

What's there to chat about at a time like this?

"Oh, hello...?"

"Your friend over there says you tried to save Gabe from this Witherstorm thing. You're pretty tough, huh?" He asked me, causing me to lift a brow at the question. "A regular iron golem, huh? Leaving the Creepers quaking in their boots?"

Okay, is he making fun of me?

Because it _really_ does sound like it...

I turned my head slightly with a frown plastered across my face. "Are _you_ making fun of me here?"

He just gave me a simple shrug which made me slightly annoyed. "Honestly? I can't even always tell myself, but you seem alright." I guess ... that's good ... in a way. " _Kinda_ wish you had my back before ... but whatever. You seem alright-ish." I just rolled my eyes.

It's almost as if none of the Order has _never_ gotten their way before.

I guess it's something I have to deal with for the time being ... who knew the real people were so unbelievably rude...

Then again ... they are still people and people can be rude and obnoxious all the time.

"What's the deal with your buddy, Axel?" Magnus asked me, pointing at the green dressed teen; who only smiled, nervously, and waved back at the griefer. Magnus gave Axel a small, unsure smile back before turning his attention back to me. "I can't tell if he's awesome ... or a little bit of a dork. He's just a little ... ah ... doofy? You know?" I raised an eyebrow at the griefer's word-play at explaining how he sees my friend. "He's like a little puppy ... you don't know whether you want to hug it ... or just walk away."

Okay ... now that's annoying...

I can't stand hearing this guy speak like that about Axel.

I turn my head to face the Order member with a frown across my face. "Axel's one of my best friends. He makes me laugh and he always sticks up for his friends," I retorted, defiantly at the griefer.

This seemed to make Magnus quite surprised as I notice his eyes grow wide a little from behind that black mask of his. "Interesting, very interesting. Then why didn't you listen to his plan to come get me?"

Great ... here we go...

And now he's continuously mouthing off about how I couldn't handle Boomtown if I had gone.

Give me a break, _please_!

I let out a soft sigh, trying not to show my frustration to the griefer. "I figured that we needed brains to fight the Witherstorm and brains meant Ellegaard."

" _Yeah_ , I definitely heard that a lot," he replied, seeming not that impressed at all. Though he let it off with a sarcastic laugh. "I'll try not to let it hurt my feelings too much."

He's messing with me again...

Do those two have some sort of beef with each or what?

Why do they have such a reason to want to fight one another?

It's just ... Ugh ... friends shouldn't fight each other ... it's not right.

It'll only lead to something that can never be fixed...

"Urr ... guys?" Lukas began, but stopped himself short. We all turned around at the sound of groaning to see a mob of zombies, spiders and skeletons heading our way.

Just great...

I looked over to Magnus; hearing him complaining about how we should've waited until morning while Ellegaard argued that we were ahead of the Witherstorm which was better ... in a way.

I sighed to myself; taking my iron sword out from my inventory. "You can hash this out later, right now we have some monsters to fight, people," I told the two as the others got their own weapons ready.

Everybody split up to take on their own mobs; which is good because it covers more ground, but I also feel it's kind of dangerous.

I looked at the three zombies before me and smirked.

Three of them ... this will be a piece of cake.

I moved towards the first zombie, slicing it two times before jumping back, so that it didn't strike me. I sliced it a third time, killing it. I moved onto the second one, dodging an attack with a quick roll to the side. I got back up to my feet; stabbing the second zombie and then jumping back as the third one drew near and nearly got me. I rolled to the side, so I was more in view of the second zombie stabbing it two more times, making it disappear like the first one.

I turned to the third and dodged with a roll as it attacked; just as I got up onto my feet to attack again; I froze.

My arm has that feeling again ... pins and needles ... making me drop my sword in shock.

"JESSE!" I heard Petra shout as she ran over towards me from her own finished fight and attacked my last zombie, jumping over me and digging her sword into its chest. Once the zombie was done with she turned her attention to me as I picked my sword up and put it away in my inventory. "Jesse, what just happened? You're clumsy, but not ... clumsy enough to get yourself killed."

I looked up at Petra and then turned my attention to everyone else as they began heading over towards us. "I...I don't know," I told her; just as confused as she was. "How about we hurry and get to Soren's. The sun's going to come up soon anyway."

She gave me a hesitant look before nodding at me. "Sure, Jesse..."

 ** _Minecraft: Story Mode - Withering_**

Once we got to the mountain that contained Soren's fortress we 'allowed' ourselves in and looked around at the large white and blue structures around as we walked along a bridge to ... another staircase ... Yay...

Lukas seemed to be commenting on how Soren could live here; so far away from civilization.

I have to agree with him there.

It would get lonely after a while.

As we made our way across the bridge and near the pristine-white staircase I felt those pins and needles on my arm again, grabbing it. A cough also broke out of my mouth which caused Petra to turn her gaze on me. I blinked and gave her a small smile before hurrying past her up the steps.

I can feel her gaze on me...

Scary...

I finally got to the top of the staircase with Petra following me; only to see a large chamber with columns leading to the other side.

Oh ... this looks ... fun?

I heard Lukas mention something about the columns before Magnus jumped off our platform and onto one of them, followed by Axel; who gave out a joyful yell. I looked down into the chasm beneath the columns and swallowed, patting Reuben on the head; who was shaking beside me, whimpering.

"Just ... don't fall down..." I told Reuben, but also trying to tell myself that as well.

My eyes lay on Olivia, Petra, Axel and Lukas as they jumped from column to column to make it to the other side. I looked at the gap between our current platform and the column before finally jumping. I landed on the column with Reuben beside me and sighed in relief.

Just a few more to go...

I can do this!

I jumped again and landed again.

I'm doing good so far.

I looked to the next platform and smirked, jumping again ... however I must've miss-stepped because my foot barely caught the edge and I was falling into the chasm with Reuben squealing after me.

I landed on my stomach while Reuben was able to land on his feet ... somehow?

I groaned, standing to my feet again as I noticed Reuben's reaction to something in the distance and my eyes widened; hiding behind a column, so I wouldn't be noticed. Hopefully. "Oh great. We got Endermen."

Reuben moved out of the way as I heard a familiar scream, causing surprise to come across my face when Lukas fell in the same position I did right in front of me. He stood to his feet, wiping any excess dirt or gravel on his person. "I heard your voice and thought I'd come down to help." He turned his head and blinked with shock at seeing the mob group. "Endermen."

"There are so many. I didn't think they came in groups that big," I said, letting my thoughts out. I looked towards Lukas again and rubbed the back of my head with a smile on my face. "That was kind of reckless, Lukas. You could have gotten hurt." He just gave me a flat look causing me to let out a short laugh.

I could hear Reuben squealing from quite a ways away from us.

He must be trying to get our attention.

As we turn around ... oh crap ... an Endermen is standing right behind me and I accidentally made eye-contact with it, causing it to 'scream' or whatever it is they do. Lukas ran off, screaming as I fell over in shock; I scrambled back onto my feet and dodged a grab by one of the grouped Endermen, causing me to fall off the edge and into water?

Seriously, this place goes deeper?

And how is there so much water?

Why am I even questioning 'Soren the Greatest Builder' anyway?

I swam up, taking a deep breath and sputtering a bit along with a cough. A strong shiver running up my body from the sudden coolness of the water temperature. I turned my head to look back at all the 'upset' Endermen as Lukas jumps off the edge and lands in the water beside me.

I notice Reuben still standing on the platform and I blink. "Reuben, jump!" The pig blinked, but followed my command, landing next to Lukas and I in the water.

I turned back around just as we went off the edge of a waterfall, causing me to let off a loud scream. We all landed in the water below and headed for the nearest block-platform which so happened to be the place of Magnus and Ellegaard's newest argument.

I would've rather taken my chances with the Endermen...

Actually ... no, that sounds worse...

But, listening to these two really gives me a headache.

Lukas and I finally made it to the platform to see the arguing duo go their separate ways under a specific statue and tunnel of each of the Order Members, specifically their own.

"It's hard to pick 'glass half-full' when they keep kicking the glass over," Olivia said, turning her attention to me, noticing that Lukas and I had finally arrived.

A sigh left Lukas' lips as he shook his head, slightly with crossed arms. "And I thought they were doing _so_ well."

Olivia shrugged at Lukas' response, causing him to blink. "Yea, I wouldn't go _that_ far."

I let out my own small sigh, putting my hands on my hips as I looked at my friends. "It seems that bickering is kind of their deal, but hopefully they'll work things out and get on with the important stuff."

The others nodded at my response. I felt my arm; realising it had gone slightly numb from that short time in the water. I grit my teeth and looked at the others; who had branched off and started looking at the large statues in the room.

I headed over to a stone block slab to sit and rest for just a little while, looking at my arm with an unsure look on my face.

I've never really had the time to look at it ... I still can't really, but it shouldn't be numb...

A soft snort caused my eyes to drift downward and smile at the pig sitting before me, wearing a worried look on his face.

I bent over and scratched him behind the ear. "Hey, Reuben, I'm just a little tired is all." A small oink was my response and I smirked at him. "Well, I'm not used to staying up all night and fighting mobs upon mobs of monsters, right?"

I just got a glare in return from the pig as if he could sense that something was indeed wrong with me and he could sense that I was lying.

I looked at my best friend; who happened to be a pig and pat him to reassure him.

He could always tell when something was bothering me and I could tell the same with him.

I guess ... we've just been together that long that we know when something is wrong with the other.

It's why I never like leaving him alone long ... he's like my other half ... in a pig...

"Look, buddy, I'm ... not exactly sure myself yet. I'll tell you when I know ... don't worry about me, okay?" I told him, but this didn't seem to ease his worries as he just snorted and gave me a worried look.

I sighed, glancing a look over at where Petra was standing near the water still; she was looking at me again. She then, turned her head away, causing me to lift a brow in slight suspicion.

What's up with her?

I shook my head, standing up and walking across the room to where Ellegaard's statue was with Reuben following closely beside me. I put a hand to my chin, looking down the tunnel before turning and looking towards Magnus'.

Well, we're gonna have to follow one of them.

Unless we end up splitting up.

I felt a tap on my shoulder; turning my head to see Petra standing behind me, looking at me with concern etched on her face. "Petra? Are you okay?"

She let out a sigh and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't mean to worry you..." A slight frown crossed my features at those words that came from her mouth as the others came over to us. "I've just got something I want to discuss with you in private."

What does she mean by that?

Well, looks like we're splitting up anyway...

I don't like doing this, but I guess it helps cover more ground.

I turned to the others and gave them a shrug. "Let's split up." Olivia, Axel and Lukas nodded as they turned to head over to Magnus' statue and the tunnel he went through while Reuben, Petra and I turned back around to head through Ellegaard's.

We walked down the tunnel, leading away from the room we had been in before and away from most light. Now any light came from the glowstones on the stone block walls. We turned a corner in the tunnel; the darker it was getting.

I could hear Reuben's soft snorting behind us as I looked over to Petra since she was a little ahead of me.

She finally turned her head to look back at me with ... grim look on her face. Why does she look upset? I know there's a Witherstorm out there, but we're trying our hardest, aren't we? "I feel bad about ditching everyone else, but I just wanted to talk to you about this alone. It's ... a little tough to talk about..."

I gave Petra a sincere look to tell how much I trusted her. "Hey, whatever, it is ... I trust you. You can tell me."

I noticed she gave me a small smile before it was gone almost in an instant. "Thanks for being so understanding."

We rounded another corner as Petra finally decided to stop, so we could continue our conversation here. I stopped beside her, giving her a confused look.

"Jesse, you were grabbed by the Witherstorm on your way to save Gabriel. I saved you, but ... I may not have been in time..." Her words were grim yet they sunk in like gravel.

I heard Reuben let out a short squeak of hearing that, knowing that he was worried about me. "W...What do you mean, Petra?" I asked her, voice stuttering a little.

She held out her arm to grab mine so that she could pull my sleeve up, but I jerked away almost instantly. "Jesse, I need to see. Please! I know the symptoms and you've shown signs of them!"

I blinked.

I have never heard Petra beg before.

Was it really scaring her this much?

She tried to grab for my arm again, but I moved it away again. "A...Alright, but I'll do it. I...I don't know if it's contagious and I don't want you catching it."

Petra stared at me for moment before folding her arms and nodding her head with a short sigh. "Fair enough..."

I looked down at my numb arm and moved my normal arm to pull up my white sleeve. My hand froze when I brought my sleeve to my elbow ... on it was a glowing-purplish substance that could be mistaken as a bruise if it wasn't glowing. The skin around it was pale; almost as if to announce that it was my weaker arm now.

"So, you _do_ have it..."

I turned my attention back to Petra; her brown eyes were glued to my arm as I blinked. "I have what? Petra ... what _is_ this?"

"Do you know what 'Wither' is?" She asked me, putting her hands on her hips with a slight frown on her face.

"The Wither? Of course, we've been..." She just shook her head at what I said, causing me to blink as she took a step forward to explain. "No, Jesse, just 'Wither' or 'Wither Sickness,' I guess." She gave me a worried look, glancing down at my arm before I quickly rolled down my sleeve to cover it up again. "It's sort of like a sickness you can only get by coming into contact with a Wither. I...I don't know much about it though..."

I stared at her for a moment, looking down in worry at my covered arm before looking back up at my friend. "Petra, I feel like this is going to keep getting worse. I was fine when we were at the temple ... maybe a slight shiver, but now..." I looked down at my arm. "I don't know..."

"Jesse, I know you may not want to worry them, but we have to tell the others about this," Petra told me, worry tinting her voice and I lowered my head.

I know that she was right, but I really don't want them to worry.

I look over to Reuben; who gave me a worried look and small squeal and I sighed.

"I know ... it's just..." A hissing sound caused us to turn around just in time to see a Creeper. I took a few steps back; Petra and Reuben got out of the way just as it exploded, taking the ground out from underneath me. I grabbed onto the edge before I could fall as Petra and Reuben ran over to me

"Grab my hand. I'll pull you up."

I grabbed hold of her hand; allowing her to pull me up, but as my foot nearly touched the stone block ... my hand slipped from Petra's grip and I fell onto the floor below with a grunt. The amulet fell from my inventory and rolled away from where I had landed.

"Jesse, are you okay? I'm so sorry!" I heard Petra cry out with Reuben squealing in worry beside her.

I groaned, getting to my feet and dusting myself off. I looked up to my two friends and gave Petra a smile. "I'm fine. It wasn't your fault." She looked unsure about that. I lifted my arm up, coughing into it. "I'm not exactly at my full potential, Petra."

"I guess ... but that doesn't mean I couldn't get you up..."

I waved my hand at her with a small smile. "Don't worry about it. I'll find another way up. You just find the others, okay?" She gave me an unsure look before nodding and getting up and walking away. I looked to Reuben and gave him a smile. "I'll be fine, buddy, stay with Petra." He gave me the same unsure look Petra did before following her.

I turned around towards where the amulet fell, blinking, picking it up and noticing the blue light now glowing in the middle.

Wait ... blue light?

That must mean that ... Ivor's here?!


End file.
